Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy
Nights

Laura Clifford

Robin Clifford

Davey Stone (Adam Sandler) is Dukesberry's drunken delinquent, a loner
whose vandalism on the first night of Hanukah so exasperates the town judge
that he sentences Davey to ten years in the slammer. The town's elderly
part-time basketball ref, Whitey (Adam Sandler), intercedes and convinces
the judge to let him take responsibility for Stone. Stone's hardly
grateful and Whitey's in for "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights."

Laura:Adam Sandler grows increasingly frustrating combining his odd mixture
of true heart and sweetness with juvenile vulgarity that may even put off
his target audience in this, his first animation. For every laugh
or smile Sandler genuinely earns he doles out a bit so nasty it is cringe
inducing. This is one psychotic holiday entry.

Stone taunts Whitey, who's seriously height challenged and has one man's
size 11 and one boy's size 9 foot, mercilessly, but Whitey doesn't become
truly upset until Davey harms someone other than himself, stealing peanut
brittle from a mall shop Whitey frequents. Big-hearted Whitey relents
once again, though, when Davey's trailer is burnt to the ground and invites
him to stay at his house which he shares with his fraternal twin Eleanor
(Adam Sandler). Meanwhile Davey shows a giving attitude to shy Benjamin
(Austin Stout, "Matilda") on the b-ball court, perhaps because his single
mom is Davey's childhood girlfriend Jennifer (Jackie Titone, Sandler's
real-life fiancee). Then Whitey and Eleanor discover the cause of
Davey's miserable existence and their sympathy makes him lash out, telling
Whitey that he has no chance of winning a civic award because no one in
town notices him. Another bender and Davey's broken his parole, but
maybe he's the only one in town that understands the true meaning of the
Christmas/Hanukah holidays.

Besides the obvious drunk and reckless behavior exhibited by the main
character, the film also treats us to a man shook up in a porto-potty,
deformities, excessive body hair and a real groan-inducer about a man putting
his thumb where the sun don't shine in his sleep. A small group of
deer who act as guardian angels are featured grinning with, no not spinach,
but human feces between their teeth. Somehow I can't imagine even
a twelve year old boy finding humor in this.

And yet the film has things to recommend it. Davey Stone's redemption
has a heartwarming effect on his entire town. The animation is good,
if nothing revolutionary. Sandler may not be the most astute vocal
actor, but his singing voice is strong and the movie features several songs,
including an updated version of "The Hanukah Song" over the closing credits
and the somewhat amusing "Technical Foul." The film's climax has
an entire whitebread town breaking into traditional Jewish dance to "Bum
Biddy." This is also a film whose ghosts of Christmas Past include
KB Toys' toy soldiers, a Victoria's Secret peignoir, the Footlocker referee
and the panda from China Express (and oddly, this in-your-face product
placement works in a weird way).

Adam Sandler's heart may be in the right place, but he needs to pull
his head out of his butt. "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights" has
too many fouls and not enough slam dunks.

(The film is preceded by a short live-action film, "A Day with the Meatball,"
about Sandler's semi-famous dog. This is pretty cute, but why oh
why subject us to Meatball soiling the carpet?)